What Makes Milwaukee Like No Place Else

By Kristine Hansen, FrontDoor.com

Make your visit a memorable one with this list of local Milwaukee tourist top spots.

Milwaukee Art Museum: With its bird-like design -- where the wings on top open and close once each day -- the Quadracci Pavilion at Milwaukee Art Museum is Santiago Calatrava’s first North American project. Open since 2001, it was named best design of the year by Time the year it debuted.

Allen-Bradley Clock Tower: The largest four-sided clock tower in the world rises above Walker’s Point, where Allen-Bradley used to be headquartered. It’s now home the headquarters for Rockwell Automation, Allen-Bradley's parent company.

Milwaukee River: Not many cities can boast a self-directed kayak trek up the river with scheduled stops at microbreweries. Dip your kayak -- or rent one at Laacke & Joy’s -- into the river out back of Lakefront Brewery, then travel north through downtown, tieing up at Rock Bottom Brewery and Milwaukee Ale House.

Green Bay Packers: For the only NFL team owned by a community, and not an individual, fans would practically give their right arm for tickets to a game in Green Bay, which is about two hours north of Milwaukee. Scoring an opportunity to buy season tickets is extremely rare (so much that fans put their children's names on the waiting list, because that’s how long it might take to rise to the top). Lesson to learn: if a co-worker or friend ever invites you, you should drop everything and accept!

Summerfest: Musical acts -- from old favorites like Steeley Dan to new crooners like John Mayer -- the world’s longest-running music festival is at the Summerfest Grounds each year for 10 days from late June to early July. For less than $15 a ticket, this is a real bargain and leaves room in your budget for a few beers.

City of Festivals: Probably no other city can claim such praise for hosting this many ethnic festivals. At the Summerfest grounds from the first weekend in June until mid-September a different culture is highlighted each Thursday through Sunday, from the gay and lesbian population’s Pride Fest to the country’s largest Irish and German festivals. Native Americans, who populate many reservations in the state’s northern half, are recognized in a festival too.